- Trump regime asks SCOTUS to allow postal election-rigging scheme
Source: Washington Post
“The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to immediately allow new restrictions on mail-in balloting …. The administration says the new rules, set out by President Donald Trump in an executive order, are necessary to keep noncitizens from voting. Under the plans, states would have to get approval for the design of their ballot envelopes from the Postal Service and would have to provide the federal government with lists of voters who are eligible to receive mail ballots. … Trump’s executive order prohibits the Postal Service from delivering mail-in ballots in states that do not turn over voter data through a new online portal.” (09/03/26)
- Russia: Putin’s top nuclear general “shot in face by motorcycle assassin”
Source: Metro [UK]
“One of Russia’s top nuclear generals is clinging to life after a suspected Ukrainian assassination attempt outside his home. Major General Nikolai Varpakhovich, 56, was being driven out of his property when a would-be assassin pulled up next to him and opened fire in Saratov, Russia. The close ally of Vladimir Putin accused of ordering a deadly missile strike on Kyiv’s children hospital, was hit in the face and chest, reported Kanal 24, a Ukrainian news outlet. His driver reportedly managed to escape, later returning to the scene and calling for an ambulance. Varpakhovich was left in critical condition and was flown to Moscow on a medical evacuation flight, the report said. The gunman has not been found.” (09/03/26)
https://metro.co.uk/2026/09/03/putins-top-nuclear-general-shot-face-motorcycle-assassin-29529205/
- Billionaire Leon Black Sues US House Committee Over Epstein Investigation
Source: US News & World Report
“Wall Street billionaire Leon Black on Thursday sued a congressional committee that had ordered him to provide lawmakers with copies of non-disclosure agreements as part of a probe into the activities of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In June, Black refused to answer questions from lawmakers about victims of Epstein’s abuse and the agreements. He declined to appear at a deposition the committee had scheduled for Thursday. He accused lawmakers of exceeding their constitutional authority when they subpoenaed him to provide the agreements. … Black is one of several prominent political and business figures who have been called to testify about their ties to the late financier. Black relinquished the chief executive role at Apollo in 2021 after an external law firm found he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate planning.” (09/03/26)
- Palestine: Two murdered as squatters, Israeli regime forces invade West Bank village
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Two Palestinian teenagers have been killed during a raid by [squatters] and Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The killings occurred during a raid in al-Mughayyir on Wednesday. The village has been the site of repeated attacks by illegal Israeli [squatters] and Israeli forces in recent months. The Palestinian Wafa news agency, citing the head of the village council, identified the victims as Mohammad Na’ssan and Khalil Abu Aliya, both 19 years old. As residents tried to confront the [squatters], Israeli soldiers opened fire on the residents, critically wounding two young men, he said. They later died from the wounds. Sources from the village told Al Jazeera that snipers had taken positions on rooftops in the village ahead of the killings.” (09/03/26)
- Clancy trial: Tensions flare as judge declines to remove juror
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A judge has again told the deadlocked jury in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial to keep trying to reach a verdict after a dramatic sixth day of deliberations. Tensions flared in court after the jury forewoman sent the judge a note saying one juror would not follow the court’s instructions on reasonable doubt.
The defence team asked for the holdout to be removed, a request that was denied by the judge. Clancy, 36, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her three children – Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan – at her Massachusetts family home on 24 January 2023. … If the jury does not reach a verdict and Judge Sullivan declares a mistrial, prosecutors would need to decide whether to retry the case.” (09/03/26) - Italy: Meloni regime sets longevity record
Source: Associated Press
“In a country where governments are famously short-lived, the perceived success of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has often been attributed to her survival skills rather than her accomplishments. On Thursday, after 1,413 days — nearly four years — Meloni’s conservative administration became Italy’s longest-serving uninterrupted government since World War II, surpassing the record set by the late Silvio Berlusconi between 2001 and 2005. None of Italy’s 68 governments in the country’s 80 years as a republic has yet to complete a five-year term without interruption. Berlusconi came closest, but a government crisis forced him to resign briefly in 2005 before forming a new Cabinet. Meloni and her party will celebrate their feat on Friday with a large preelection rally in the southern city of Bari.” (09/03/26)
- US unemployment claims tick up to 206,000 but remain at historically low levels
Source: Toledo Blade
“More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but layoffs are still rare and jobless claims remain at historically low levels. The Labor Department reported Thursday filings for benefits ticked up to 206,000 last week from a revised 204,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, rose modestly to 207,250 last week. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.” (09/03/26)
- Somalia: Renewed clashes erupt between regime troops, militias
Source: ABC News
“Renewed fighting erupted early Thursday between government forces and militias on the outskirts of Somalia’s southwestern city of Baidoa, with reports of heavy gunfire and civilians fleeing their homes. Somalia’s Defense Ministry said government forces responded to an attack by fighters loyal to former South West state President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen and the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. The clashes are the latest escalation in a political and security dispute between Somalia’s federal government and Laftagareen over control of South West state. Federal forces took control of Baidoa on March 30, after which Laftagareen resigned. He had governed the state since 2018.” (09/03/26)
- US House passes bill to defund universities displaying insufficiently fervent loyalty to a foreign power
Source: Haaretz [Israel]
“Thirty-three Democrats in the U.S. House joined nearly all Republicans to pass a bill Thursday that would require colleges and universities to certify that they are not engaged in a ‘nonexpressive commercial boycott’ of Israel in order to receive federal funding. The legislation was endorsed by pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, while most liberal Jewish groups, including J Street and Democratic leadership, opposed the measure. The Republican-majority chamber voted 237-169 in favor of the ‘Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act,’ which would have to pass the Senate to become law.” (09/03/26)
- Nvidia announces $12.9 billion acquisition of Hugging Face
Source: United Press International
“Nvidia announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire open-source AI company Hugging Face for $12.9 billion. The acquisition will bring a platform that is used by 18 million people, including researchers and developers, under Nvidia’s ownership. Hugging Face has been used to share more than 3 million models, 500,000 datasets and 1 million applications, Nvidia said in a blog post.” (09/03/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/03/nvidia-acquirers-hugging-face/4201788442987/
- Estonia: Defense minister resigns after procurement scandal
Source: Politico
“Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur resigned Wednesday evening after national auditors accused his ministry of spending irregularities and a scandal involving undelivered ammunition for Ukraine. The center-right politician, who has served as minister since 2022, said he would step down one day after after reports emerged that his ministry had awarded a €70 million artillery contract to an Indian company with no record of ammunition sales. Estonia took the case to the European Court of Arbitration after the shells were not delivered. … Pevkur faced calls to resign after Estonia’s national audit office last month found ‘serious problems’ in the use of funds and accounting of assets in the defense ministry. The watchdog made similar claims last year.” (09/03/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/estonian-defense-minister-resigns-after-procurement-scandal/
- MO: Candidate charged with trying to plant cocaine on his political rival
Source: SFGate
“A candidate for the Missouri House made an initial court appearance Thursday on a federal drug charge accusing him of trying to plant cocaine and Adderall on his Republican primary opponent. Thomas Ross, 37, is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He’s accused of asking a campaign manager to plant a small amount of cocaine and a prescription amphetamine pill on his opponent, Louise Secker, in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 4 primary, according to court documents. Ross, of Joplin, defeated Secker by only a few dozen votes. Ross did not respond to a Thursday message seeking comment about the charge, which was filed Wednesday. The federal public defender’s office assigned to his case didn’t immediately reply to a message asking how Ross plans to plead. Missouri’s Republican Party chairman, Peter Kinder, called on Ross to drop out of the race, describing the circumstances of his arrest as ‘serious and deeply troubling’.” (09/03/26)
- Gloria Steinem, 1934-2026
Source: Reuters
“Gloria Steinem, the American writer, lecturer, activist and organizer who fought for gender equality and women’s civil and reproductive rights for more than five decades, has died, her foundation said. She was 92 years old. The co-founder and consulting editor of Ms. Magazine championed the feminist movement from the late 1960s onwards and inspired generations of women. … Steinem founded the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971 with former U.S. Representatives Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm and writer Betty Friedan, whose 1963 book ‘The Feminine Mystique’ ushered in the second wave of feminism. Among other groups, she also created the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Women’s Media Center, Voters for Choice, and the Ms. Foundation for Women.” (09/03/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/feminist-activist-gloria-steinem-dies-age-92-2026-09-03/
- Germany: Far-right party targets iconic Bauhaus school ahead of landmark state election
Source: Asssociated Press
“Nearly a century after the Nazis shut down the world-famous Bauhaus school of design, it has once again become a cultural battleground between Germany’s establishment and the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has called the art movement an ‘aberration of modernism.’ Founded in 1919, Bauhaus blurred lines between art and industry, influencing global design to this day. … Attacks on Bauhaus by Alternative for Germany, also known as AfD, come as Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany is about to vote in an election that could see a far-right party take control of one of the country’s states for the first time since World War II. AfD hopes to gain an absolute majority in the state legislature in the election on Sunday, an outcome that would shake German politics and possibly have repercussions for the region’s cultural freedom.” (09/03/26)
- UN Says World Will Miss Its Climate Target, Warming Must Be Reversed
Source: New York Times
“The world has failed in its [sic] goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times, the United Nations said on Wednesday, in a sober assessment that laid out a new goal for fighting climate change that would set the world on an uncertain path. A decade ago, most of the world’s countries agreed in Paris to try to limit global temperature rise to ‘well below’ two degrees Celsius while aiming for the more ambitious target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. But Wednesday’s 141-page U.N. report warned that the world is certain to breach that mark and should focus on finding ways to limit ‘overshoot’ and eventually bring global temperatures back down.” (09/03/26)
- Brazil: Regime considers reciprocal measures after EU halts imports of Brazilian goods
Source: Seattle Times
“Brazil’s government and exporters of meat, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products were scrambling Thursday after a European Union deadline passed, triggering a suspension of imports over concerns about the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in livestock. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s agriculture ministry said Thursday that it would consider reciprocal measures if a satisfactory solution is not reached. … The EU announced the suspension Tuesday, to become effective two days later. Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, shipped about 108,000 tons of beef worth about $1 billion to the EU in 2025, according to government figures. The bloc announced in May that Brazil would be removed from its list of countries authorized to export certain animal products to the bloc, arguing that Brazil had failed to provide sufficient guarantees that its livestock production meet EU standards against antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted drugs.” (09/03/26)
- Spain: Sánchez struggles to answer lawmakers about Ceuta border crisis
Source: SFGate
“A day after tens of thousands of Spaniards protested the government’s handling of the Ceuta border crisis, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez struggled to field lawmakers’ questions about the matter, including what role Morocco played in the deadly mass crossing in July. Five weeks after the incident, it remains unclear how 72,000 people were able to stream across the border shared by the Spanish exclave in North Africa and Morocco in the first place. While rejecting suggestions that Moroccan authorities helped orchestrate the incident, Sánchez said Moroccan police ‘allowed the border to be crossed’. Sánchez said his government would release key reports about the border breach, but did not say when they would be made public or what they would entail. He also elevated the official death toll from the event to 141 people, up significantly from the most-recent estimate of a total 96 in Spain and Morocco, provided by authorities in Ceuta and Morocco’s National Human Rights Council.” (09/03/26)
- Judge blocks Trump’s latest attempt to repeal 14th Amendment by executive order
Source: Politico
“A federal judge has blocked one of President Donald Trump’s latest attempts to limit birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday barring enforcement of provisions in an executive order Trump signed last month seeking to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to foreign parents who came in a ‘commercial transaction’ to gain citizenship or whose parents are ‘alien enemies.’ Boardman said Trump’s new order defies the Supreme Court’s ruling in June striking down the key provisions of a more sweeping directive he issued on his first day in office that sought to end birthright citizenship for children born to foreigners not in the U.S. legally [sic] or in the country on limited-duration visas.” (09/02/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/02/birthright-citizenship-order-ruling
- ICE gang member fedrally charged with lying over shooting
Source: CNN
“An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been federally charged with lying about the events leading up to his shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg earlier this year, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The charges against ICE officer Christian Castro are not yet publicly available, but a person familiar with the matter told CNN that he is facing several counts of making false statements. This is the first time the Justice Department has charged an officer for conduct that occurred on-duty during highly publicized immigration operations nationwide. Local prosecutors in Minnesota had already charged Castro with second-degree assault and making a false report earlier this year.” (09/03/26)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/03/politics/ice-officer-christian-castro-federal-charges
- Norwegian pirates steal Russian ship in Arctic over Crimea compensation claim
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Norway has seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a compensation claim by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, linked to Russian asset seizures in Crimea. Norway seized the ship on Wednesday, after Moscow failed to pay Naftogaz $4.22bn plus interest and legal costs to compensate for assets it seized in Crimea after a tribunal ruling at The Hague in 2023. … The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was taken off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard after a 24-hour standoff with the Norwegian Coast Guard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz.” (09/003/26)
- The Human Cost of the Iran War
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“Since the U.S. and Israel started the war at the end of February, at least 1,700 Iranian civilians have been killed, and the total is probably much higher. Compared to the horrors of the war in Gaza, that may seem low, but these are all lives of innocent people snuffed out in a war that the president started on a whim. If not for the criminal actions of the U.S. and Israeli governments, all these people would be alive today. When we count the human cost of our government’s wars, we tend to give short shrift to the lives of the people in the country that our military is bombing. Even though Iranians are the ones bearing the brunt of our government’s aggression, their deaths and injuries are often treated as an afterthought. The loss of innocent lives caused by our military never seems to generate that much outrage.” (09/03/26)
https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/the-human-cost-of-the-iran-war
- Democratic socialists and MAGA share a dangerous flaw
Source: USA Today
by Ilya Somin“Democratic socialism is a terrible ideology. If implemented, its agenda would cause grave harm and imperil democracy itself. And in seeking massive state control of the economy, today’s socialists ironically have much in common with the MAGA nationalists they claim to oppose. Both promote government control over the economy, and both paths undermine liberty, prosperity and democracy. Socialists do not control the Democratic Party in the way MAGA largely dominates the Republicans. But their influence is growing.” (09/03/26)
- Abusing Aristotle
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael Pakaluk“It is curious how ‘the common good,’ when it bubbles into public discourse, always seems to be at the center of bitter controversy. One would expect that everyone would be in favor of ‘the common good,’ or at worst that it would represent the kind of vaguely uplifting language that few find objectionable. Instead, it leads to rancor. That was certainly the case with the recent controversy involving public personalities at the Daily Wire, National Review, and other right-wing outlets. Critics of the New Right suspect that its members are using the phrase ‘common good’ as a sanctimonious smokescreen to avoid serious discussion of their real priorities and purpose. That suspicion, it seems to me, is largely correct.” (09/03/26)
- The New Domestic Revolution
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“In ancient Greece and Rome a leisured class could pursue philosophy, politics and the arts because slaves did the work. … A similar transformation happened much more recently, and to far more people, without anyone being enslaved at all. It happened in the twentieth century, in the ordinary home. Before the washing machine, doing the laundry for a family could take the best part of a day: hauling water, heating it, scrubbing, wringing, hanging out to dry. Before the vacuum cleaner, carpets were beaten by hand. Before the dishwasher, someone stood at a sink after every meal. … We are now entering a new phase of the same process, and it is set to be larger than anything that came before. Robots and artificial intelligence are beginning to do the work that used to require a person.” (09/03/26)
- Trump’s immigration policies are killing the labor force
Source: Washington Post
by Stuart Anderson & Mark Regets“Donald Trump is on track to become the first president in a century to oversee a U.S. labor force that will be smaller when he leaves office than when he entered. Since the start of his second term, the number of people in the United States who are either employed or looking for a job has dropped by 1.6 million — and it’s largely because of Trump’s immigration restrictions. Unless those policies change, a shrinking workforce will cause slower economic growth and lead to more expensive public debt. This is an anomaly in U.S. history. The civilian labor force has increased by the end of every president’s term, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln’s because of the number of people who left the workforce to fight in the Civil War.” (09/03/26)
- Supreme Irony: Congressional Democrats Seek to Reform Institution That is More Popular Than They Are
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“Congressional Democrats blocked an effort to introduce a constitutional amendment to bar the Court’s expansion, with many members reiterating their demand to pack the Court to create an instant liberal majority. The Democrats insisted the Court is broken and no longer legitimate because of partisan rulings they want reversed by a packed Court. Ironically, the vote came with the release of the latest Harvard-Harris polling showing that Congress itself is still the least respected institution, while the Supreme Court holds higher approval than either the White House or Congress. Congress is still wallowing at 34 percent approval among the American people. Both parties are equally disliked, with 55% disapproval of the GOP and 53% disapproval of the Democratic Party. Conversely, the Supreme Court continues to enjoy far greater approval from the public, currently at 49% at ‘very favorable’ or ‘favorable’.” (09/03/26)
- Russia Is at War With the West. Don’t Call It “Hybrid.”
Source: The Next Move
by Garry Kasparov“If Russia attacks Europe, and Europe doesn’t call it war, is it actually a war? As the Kremlin continues to probe the West’s defenses, it’s clear that European leaders would prefer you call it ‘hybrid war,’ hoping that the focus stays on the ‘hybrid’ half of the equation and not on the ‘war.’ … hybrid war is a real category of warfare. It refers to an entire arsenal of non-kinetic actions a country can take to undermine its enemies. Russia has tried just about every hybrid warfare tactic you can think of: Cyberattacks. Troll farms and propaganda. Propping up far-right political parties to disrupt democracy in France and Germany. Interfering in American elections. As a KGB officer, Vladimir Putin is expert in this method, which is more subterfuge than brute force. The problem is that Russia long ago moved beyond this domain to begin carrying out open attacks on the West.” (09/03/26)
https://www.thenextmove.org/p/russia-is-at-war-with-the-west-dont
- Florida wants colleges out of politics. There’s just one problem.
Source: Expression
by Ryan Ansloan“Last week, Polk State College proudly announced that its Board of Trustees had adopted a statement committing the school to institutional neutrality. On Sept. 3, the State University System of Florida’s Board of Governors will consider taking the first formal step toward requiring all 12 universities in the system to adopt institutional-neutrality policies of their own. On the whole, that’s good news. Institutional neutrality can help colleges remain focused on their educational mission while leaving political and social debates to students and faculty. But both the Polk State policy and the proposal before the Board of Governors contain a significant loophole. Rather than hew to the clear and rare exceptions used by many schools that have adopted institutional neutrality, these policies provide a new exception that threatens to render the neutrality commitment meaningless.” (09/03/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/florida-wants-colleges-out-of-politics
- The moving lessons of nomadic herders
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“The summer of 2026 hasn’t just been a time for pastoral relaxation in the great outdoors; it’s also been a season of, and for, pastoralists. Global events have brought together hundreds of representatives from communities whose lives and livelihoods are built on pastoral or nomadic herding traditions. On Monday, the sixth World Nomad Games kicked off in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia. Hundreds of participants are competing in horse races and horseback wrestling, falconry, and archery, among other events. Meanwhile, over the preceding two weeks, at a conference in Mongolia – where about a third of the population is nomadic – pastoralists from around the world advocated for rights to public grazing lands and freer movement.” (09/02/26)
- Better Serfdom Is Not Freedom
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“For the life of me, I just cannot understand why anyone would choose serfdom over freedom. After all, we’ve been given only one life to live. Wouldn’t it be better to live that one life in freedom rather than serfdom? The answer seems self-evident to me. It goes without saying that both conservatives and progressives accepted the serfdom society a long time ago. Today, both of them are enthusiastic supporters of it. However, unfortunately there is also a large number of libertarians who have chosen serfdom over freedom. That just makes no sense to me. Libertarianism is about freedom, not serfdom.” (09/03/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/03/better-serfdom-is-not-freedom/
- “The System” Is Not “Stacked Against” Anyone
Source: Town Hall
by Derek Hunter“It was a really funny and informative moment on CNN, and like most funny and informative moments on CNN, it did not involve anyone who calls themselves a ‘journalist’ and works for CNN. It involved a failed sports ‘journalist’, a libertarian podcaster, and it demonstrated just how ill-suited for any kind of challenge to their talking points these leftists really are. ‘It’s one thing to not think capitalism is working ideally. It’s another thing entirely to insist that it is oppressive, that it is bound up with white supremacy,’ said podcaster Kmele Foster. Jemele Hill, the former ESPN host who spent most of her on-air time whining about politics, always complaining and lying about conservatives, and was so bad she was finally let go, responded, ‘How is it not?'” (09/03/26)
- State Film Subsidies Lose Money. Trump Wants To Try the Idea Nationally.
Source: Reason
by Tosin Akintola“There’s ‘no reason to think a federal incentive would work any differently from state incentives,’ says one expert.” (09/03/26)
- Want to save NATO? Ask its members to do less.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Johan Wennstrom“This summer the Pentagon handed NATO members a questionnaire asking whether they support in part, ‘U.S. foreign policy priorities.’ Dubbed a ‘loyalty test’ in the press, it was seen by many Europeans as the most recent sign that the alliance is coming apart because of American petulance. Yet what is actually happening is that the U.S. is putting stress on an inherently flawed and now exhausted form of alliance politics. The roots of the present discord were planted not in the 2024 reelection of President Donald Trump, but in the moment of NATO’s Cold War triumph thirty years earlier. Indeed, one of the more puzzling developments after the dissolution of both the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact was the conviction of Western leaders that the time was ripe for new, grand projects of expansion and integration.” (09/03/26)
- Hey Americans! Escape Debt By Going To War With Iran!
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Today in dystopia, war pundits have begun suggesting that the US could recruit sufficient troops for a ground invasion of Iran by offering young Americans debt forgiveness in exchange for enlisting. I guess it was only a matter of time. … In a Twitter essay on the same subject published earlier this month, AJ Jaff used more blunt language: ‘When the choice is decades chained to $45,000+ in debt, or a few years of service that erases it and hands you a clean start, a huge share of desperate young people will take the offer. Not because they ‘support the war’. Because the debt was engineered into a cage, and service is the ONLY door out.'” (09/03/26)
https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/09/03/hey-americans-escape-debt-by-going-to-war-with-iran/
- What Does $24 Billion Buy in the California Housing Market?
Source: The Dispatch
by Kevin D Williamson“Good news for housing-hungry Californians: A new development in Orange County was approved in May. The bad news: Approval took almost 50 years. The Saddleback Meadows project in Trabuco Canyon, California, first appeared on the Orange County supervisors’ agenda in 1978—when your favorite correspondent, who passed the eligibility age for unrestricted AARP membership a few years back, was in kindergarten. As my Competitive Enterprise Institute colleague Steve Swedberg points out, most projects do not undergo such incredible delays, but the ordinary approval process is enough to add almost $40,000 to the cost of building an average new home—not only in California but across the United States.” (09/03/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/california-housing-market-subsidies/
- DC’s Paid Family Leave cuts take the “trust” out of “trust fund”
Source: Niskanen Center
by Sylvia Bryan“When the Council of the District of Columbia finalized its version of the municipal FY2027 budget, it set the city on a path toward a troubling milestone: As of October 1, D.C. will become the first jurisdiction in the country to implement cuts to paid family and medical leave (PFML). A majority of the program’s dedicated payroll tax revenue, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, will be diverted to unrelated expenditures. Meanwhile, the maximum weekly benefit will be decreased for all PFML categories, the maximum leave duration will be reduced for some, and D.C. will continue collecting the program’s dedicated payroll tax at a rate of 0.75 percent.” (09/03/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/d-c-s-paid-family-leave-cuts-take-the-trust-out-of-trust-fund
- The Benevolent Smokescreen
Source: Law & Liberty
by Sary Levy-Carciente“In contemporary political economy, it is sometimes helpful to draw a distinction between a Proper State and an Improper State. The distinction tracks the relationship of the state’s public sector apparatuses to the productivity and fiscal consent of its citizenry. When a state is properly accountable to its citizens, it uses taxpayer revenue to support functions that the people broadly approve. If that traditional bond of institutional accountability is severed, a more pathological configuration materializes wherein the state operates independently, decoupling its structural survival from the prosperity of its people. The improper state maintains its power with two primary tools: narrative and institutional control.” (09/03/26)
- Healthcare is more badly broken than political leaders admit
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
by Marj Halperin“Raise your hand if you have affordable, accessible healthcare. Anyone? Yeah, that’s what I thought. With independent studies showing that close to half of all Americans struggle to afford healthcare, I expect I got the rest of you with the addition of the word ‘accessible.’ That’s because, while rising costs are a barrier for too many, even those who can afford comprehensive health insurance are finding money can’t buy you a timely appointment with most doctors.” (09/03/26)
- New Delhi’s Strategy Shows Why Protectionism Fails
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott“This month, there will be over 400 Chinese officials in New Delhi—more than double the previous delegation in 2019—to discuss the future of Sino–Indian relations. For China, those relations have never been more favorable; India’s position on the world stage has declined, though not in ways caused by China, making the prospect of resumed and increased trade between the two nations increasingly likely.” (09/03/26)
https://fee.org/articles/new-delhis-strategy-shows-why-protectionism-fails/
- America’s quiet socialist takeover spreading from town halls to classrooms
Source: Fox News
by Rosemary Becchi“The socialist experiment in America is no longer confined to Washington or deep-blue national politics. It is coming to city halls and school boards across the country, where low-turnout elections can transform ambitious ideology into binding budgets and classroom policy. Local government often affects Americans’ everyday lives more directly than Washington, shaping taxes, municipal services, schools, policing and housing. Americans should therefore pay close attention to the DSA’s steady advance into local government, where ideological commitments can collide with fiscal limits, practical administration and community preferences.” [editor’s note: The MAGA version isn’t as quiet, but it’s just as socialist – TLK] (09/03/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/americas-quiet-socialist-takeover-spreading-town-halls-classrooms
- Data Center Paradox
Source: Independent Institute
by Alex Tokarev & Kristin Tokarev“Data centers can lower costs, but states shouldn’t waste tax subsidies on them.” (09/03/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/03/data-center-paradox/
- Making Sense of Failures in US Defense Funding
Source: Cato Institute
by Benjamin Giltner“Congress and the Trump administration are not at blame for investing too little in America’s military; they are at fault for taking on too many national security projects. To quote a favorite line from the Rolling Stones, ‘You can’t always get what you want.'” (09/03/26)
- How the Dollar Became American
Source: The Daily Economy
by Joakim Book“Brendan Greeley’s new book ‘The Almighty Dollar’ traces the dollar’s 500-year journey from a European silver coin to the shaky foundation of American financial power.” (09/03/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-the-dollar-became-american/
- Saving Lives Should Not Require Permission
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joseph Varon“When did saving a life start to feel like breaking the rules? When did the doctor at the bedside become less trusted than the people making decisions from far away, such as administrators, regulators, or distant experts who have never met the patient? And how did a profession built on judgment, uncertainty, and moral responsibility end up rewarding people for just following orders? These aren’t just abstract questions. They decide who can act when someone is dying, and who gets blamed if the official plan fails.” (09/03/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/saving-lives-should-not-require-permission/
- Religion, Humanities, and the Public Good
Source: Liberal Currents
by Shaily Patel & Matthew Gabriele“The right wing’s assault on Religion and Humanities programs is an assault on our ability to understand the world, from Hindutva abroad to Christian Nationalism at home.” (09/03/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/religion-humanities-and-the-public-good/
- Teen-safety settlement is Meta’s shrewd move to hurt competitors
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Ian Ayres“The headlines this week wrote themselves: Meta, humbled at last, agrees to pay up to $17.1 billion and accept the strictest limits ever imposed on teenage social media use. A combined two-hour daily cap across Instagram and Facebook. A midnight-to-6 a.m. blackout. Age assurance. Attorneys general from 47 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories took a victory lap. But amid all this, Meta’s stock went up. Wall Street understood something the headlines missed. Meta did not simply buy peace. It bought a government-backed campaign to press the same restraints on its rivals — restraints that, by design, might cost rivals far more than they cost Meta, thus serving Meta’s interests.” (09/03/26)
- What the Flock? Exposing Big Tech’s Surveillance State
Source: Common Dreams
by Tim Karr“For many, Labor Day signifies a time of transition, the end of summer and the return to business as usual, whether it be school or work. But the holiday weekend was born out of a more radical past, and at a place charged with a history of protest and free expression. On September 5, 1882, more than 10,000 workers sacrificed a day’s pay to march on Union Square and demand an eight-hour workday and an end to child labor. The success of their protest paved the way for Labor Day to become a federal holiday in 1894. Initially a gated garden enclave for New York’s wealthiest, architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux redesigned Union Square in 1872 as an open plaza for public assembly and patriotic demonstration. By the beginning of the 20th century, Union Square became the epicenter of radical American politics, a setting for protests by anarchists and socialists.” (09/03/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/flock-big-tech-surveillance
- Imperialist Delusions and the Price of Fuel
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“During the 2024 campaign Donald Trump promised to cut energy prices in half. He has, instead, presided over soaring prices at the pump, which have played an important role in his collapse in the polls. Some might attribute this disaster to Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, ignoring what appear to have been near-unanimous warnings by experienced military and intelligence officials that such a war would, in addition to disrupting oil supplies, overstretch the U.S. military and dangerously deplete stocks of munitions — which is exactly what happened. But Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury secretary, has found someone else to blame: Ukraine.” (09/03/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/imperialist-delusions-and-the-price
- Admissions Standards Ration Scarce Resources
Source: The Daily Economy
by Art Carden“Mismatching students and institutions can hurt the very students such policies intend to help — while squandering scarce faculty talent on remedial math.” (09/02/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/admissions-standards-ration-scarce-resources/
- Iran is no Vietnam, but Trump is mimicking Lyndon Johnson’s failed approach
Source: The Hill
by Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet“President Trump and his national security team are heading back to the future in Vietnam. No, we do not mean April 29, 1975, when the U.S. chaotically evacuated Saigon. Nor are we referring to the quagmire the Vietnam war had become by then. Rather, we refer to Operation Rolling Thunder, which began in March 1965 and ended just after Halloween in 1968. The U.S. military’s limited aerial campaign was intended to coerce the North Vietnamese to the negotiating table. Instead, over time, it began planting the seeds that resulted in Hanoi’s victory over South Vietnam ten years later. Today, Team Trump is attempting to wield a similar failed strategy in Iran.” (09/03/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/6066434-avoiding-vietnam-mistake-iran-conflict/
- Israel Faces Toxic Blowback From Its Genocide in Gaza
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andy Worthington“Dr. [Dianne] Woodward noted that, earlier this month, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and representatives of the Board of Peace established under Donald Trump to, ostensibly, oversee a new Palestinian-led administration in Gaza, ‘agreed to set up a working group on sanitation and public health affecting both Israel and Gaza’, although its ‘membership and detailed operating structure’ have not been made public. … Dr. Woodward also noted how, ironically, while trying to erase evidence of its genocide, Israel was importing from Gaza, ‘into undisclosed locations inside Israel and the West Bank’, some of ‘the estimated 60 million tonnes of rubble from Gaza’, without seeming to be aware that, in doing so, it is ‘potentially transferring the pollutants in that rubble directly to disposal or storage sites’ that will also affect the public health of Israelis.” (09/03/26)
- Government Welfare Makes Things Worse: Benjamin Franklin’s Forgotten Warning
Source: Tenth Amendment Center
by Michael Boldin“‘Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.’ That was James Madison, explaining that the modern federal welfare state is not authorized by the Constitution. Despite that, politicians today still insist that these programs aren’t just authorized, they’re also absolutely necessary to help people. But they ignore the fatal trap that Benjamin Franklin uncovered over 250 years ago: his long-forgotten warning that government welfare makes things worse.” (09/02/26)
- The Trump Administration’s Difficult Relationship with the Truth
Source: Independent Institute
by Caleb Petitt“As a social science, economics is meant to be apolitical. Research is meant to find out truths about the world we live in, particularly when it comes to markets. Government organizations such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Census Bureau, and Federal Reserve all play a role in collecting, organizing, and analyzing data on the country’s economic well-being. The Trump administration seems determined to chip away at their independence and weigh in on their analysis. Last year, President Trump fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the BLS, because he was displeased with a routine correction to a jobs number estimate. He has also tried to limit the Federal Reserve’s independence through executive orders, threatened to fire former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and repeatedly attempted to remove Dr. Lisa Cook as a Federal Reserve board member.” (09/02/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/02/trump-administration-relationship-truth/
- The Elephant in the Canadian Room
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“At first glance, the current American-Canadian trade ‘war’ is absurd. We are neighbors with a long history of close friendship, speak the same language (for the most part), and spring from the same British civilization. Nearly one million Canadians reside in the United States. Given the two countries’ natural affinities, Canadians are nearly indistinguishable from Americans. Both sides have reasonable grievances over trade policy. Americans don’t like Canada’s perennial trade surpluses of more than $50 billion in a supposedly free-trade zone. They resent the fact that non-free-market China exports subsidized cheap steel and aluminum through Canada, giving Canadian auto and truck exports a price advantage. The United States also objects to Canada imposing a surcharge on American digital media companies to subsidize Canadian Indigenous and French-language content.” (09/03/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/03/the-elephant-in-the-canadian-room/
- Trump Hands Dems Their Best Gift Yet
Source: The Bulwark
by Lauren Egan“For months, Democrats running in competitive races have taken note of the widespread and growing public backlash to data centers and have begun elevating their opposition to them in campaign settings. Given the public perception that data centers are responsible for rising utility costs, Democrats have tied the proliferation of those facilities to the party’s overarching midterm theme of affordability, and they’ve blamed Republican incumbents for courting them. … in the past few weeks, Republican officials have seemingly started to wake up to the fact that their party is on the wrong political side of the issue. … All that, however, was before Trump’s Truth Social post Monday morning.” (09/02/26)
- Libertarian Angle, 09/03/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Jacob and Richard discuss a fatal flaw in socialism — the labor theory of value.” (09/03/26)
- Rising, 09/03/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Democratic Socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier calling out her fellow Democrats who voted with Republicans to condemn socialism.” (09/03/26)
- Nonzero, 09/03/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is AI a Form of Life? | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (09/03/26)
- The Business List, episode 58
Source: LP Alliance
“Your source for stories in the [Libertarian Party], across the country, and around the world!” (09/03/26)
- NPR Politics Podcast, 09/03/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“A tale of two Senate candidates.” (09/03/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/03/nx-s1-5955453/a-tale-of-two-senate-candidates
- Politics Politics Politics, 09/03/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“Could Hasan Piker Cost El-Sayed the Michigan Senate Race? (with Bill Scher).” (09/03/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/could-hasan-piker-cost-el-sayed-the
- Liberal Currents Live, 09/03/26
Source: Liberal Currents
“Russia and Ukraine—All the Ruin That Putin Can Buy.” (09/03/26)
- Joseph L. Verruni on Kruser and Krew
Source: Bluegrass Institute
“On WVLK’s Kruser and Krew, Joseph Verruni discusses energy costs and the challenges posed by data centers.” (09/03/26)
- Connor Echols on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Why IS Israel Funding Ted Cruz’s Podcast? Is It Legal?” (09/03/26)
- Politico’s Nerdcast, 09/03/26
Source: Politico
“‘What the hell is going on with the Democratic Party?’ (with Stephen A. Smith).” (09/03/26)
- Underthrow Podcast, 09/03/26
Source: Underthrow
“In This House, We Believe… What, Exactly?” (09/03/26)
- The Headlines, 09/03/26
Source: New York Times
“U.S. Attack Hits Iranian Wedding, and Influencers Are Being Quietly Paid to Talk Politics.” (09/03/26)
- The Moynihan Report, 09/03/26
Source: The Moynihan Report
“Kiss’s Gene Simmons Just Wanted to Make His Mother Proud.” (09/03/26)
https://www.themoynihan.report/p/kisss-gene-simmons-just-wanted-to
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 09/03/26
Source: Politico
“Harris’[s] red state blues.” (09/03/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 09/03/26
Source: The Dispatch
“SCOTUS Majority Rules White House Ballroom Is A Go.” (09/03/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/scotus-majority-rules-white-house-ballroom-is-a-go/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/03/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Texas Keeps The Ball Rolling — Gold & Silver Are Now Legal Tender.” (09/03/26)
- Radio Atlantic, 09/03/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Creating the Perfect Female Monster.” (09/03/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/09/furious-perfect-female-monster/688485
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 09/03/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“What Can the Presidents and First Ladies Teach Us About the American Idea?” (09/03/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/what-can-the-presidents-and-first
- Half the Answer, episode 101
Source: Liberal Currents
“Donald Trump’s unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn’t he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can’t read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump’s statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so.” (09/03/26)
- Interviews by Claire Lehmann, 09/02/26
Source: Quillette
“Sydney psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed on why men who quit work aren’t depressed but demoralised, and how mental health labels became a rival source of status and dignity.” (09/02/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/09/03/why-so-many-young-men-are-giving-up-on-work/